Microsoft Loses Patent Case In South Korea

Arstechnica has reported that the Supreme Court of Korea has upheld the validity of a patent, which will prevent Microsoft from selling copies of Microsoft Office in the crucial market of South Korea. In this case, Microsoft have been accused of infringing on a patent, which allows automatic switching between English and Korean.

Though Microsoft has had this feature for a while now, the patent was issued to Professor Lee Keung-Hae of Hankuk Aviation university way back in 1997. The patent issued was broad sweeping and covered any technology that switches user input mode between Korean and English. The case to defend the patent was initiated by technology firm P&IB who sued Microsoft on behalf of Professor Lee. Though they have won the case, P&IB want more. They are planning to initiate a lawsuit against Microsoft to the tune of 70 Billion WON ($75 million) for damages and lost revenue.

Not all is lost though for Microsoft. A Microsoft lawyer has been quoted as saying that despite the loss, they have discovered new facts, which would help them invalidate the patent.

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